A Spark of Humanity
by Kuchia-chi
Summary: When Uchiha Obito was drafted by his superior officer to collect a defective android who was about to be auctioned off on the black-market, he really didn't expect to be the one taking care of her. Haruno Sakura was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. He really hoped he was the right one for the job. AU
1. Chapter 1: Capture

**Update** : Chia's an idiot who apparently doesn't know what "synthetic" means and just assumed it meant human-like and not chemical produced. Please forgive my stupidity and are able to still enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Uchiha Obito was renowned for never having much experience with, or much understanding, about technology. In fact, he was the type of guy who his elder co-workers, ironically, teased for being behind the times.

However, that by no means meant that he was completely inept, he knew and had all the basics that were necessary for keeping up with society at the bare minimum: a tv, a laptop, and a smartphone. On top of that, he was quite proud of the fact that he was able to operate all of his workplace equipment…at least, only after he caused a frequency screech through the handheld radio that had the entire police force berating him for experimenting while on duty.

Suffice to say, being called into the meeting room to receive details on raiding an upcoming black-market auction had him questioning the intelligence of his superiors. The Uchiha family been a part of the police force for generations and it wasn't strange for them to know just about every detail of each other. That didn't mean that others were barred against contribution to upholding peace within society, in fact two of his best friends, Nohara Rin and Hatake Kakashi were both specialists who were eager to join him in the trade.

But despite his specialised friends, it still didn't change the fact that he was assigned to handling a large number of dangerous, and potentially explosive tech. So, he raised his hand, ignoring the fact that he was interrupting the meeting and earned himself a frustrated glare from his superior, Uchiha Madara.

"Obito."

Obito released a tense chuckle from the sudden spotlight on him, "Sir, are you sure it's wise to have me on the infiltration squad for this operation? I'm not that well versed in operating and disposing tech safely."

Madara sighed; he knew he should have expected that question to come when he put Obito on the list of people he wanted on the team but still…he had his moments where he hoped for a bit of peace.

"Hatake has successfully supplied the information to appropriate parties that you will be expected to present as the auctioneer. We have reasonable intel that suggests there is a defective synthetic human among the clutter, it is currently the most dangerous out of everything and Obito," The man in question shot up in his seat, "You're the most reliable when it comes talking to traumatised victims and that is how I want to approach this case. This Synth is defective and most likely volatile."

"Understood, sir."

The meeting finished smoothly and Obito began to gear up for his upcoming role. He didn't play the role often, at least not to the point where he was standing in front of a crowd, but he was always prepared for the case.

A knock from the door made Obito turn around to see Rin there with a small smile on her face. He couldn't help but blush at the sight. He had a crush on her from since they were kids, he never had the courage to tell her though out of respect for her feelings for Kakashi. He had long since grown out of his jealousy and childish antics of trying to beat Kakashi in order to win Rin's affections but he hadn't completely given up either.

"Hey, Rin, wassup?"

Rin giggled softly, "You always look so mature whenever you're gearing up for a mission."

Obito was both flattered and offended but only ended up blushing as he nearly dropped his taser. Quickly, regaining his composure, he finished up packing and he and Rin made their way through the corridors to their boss' office.

"Are you going to be alright with this mission, Obito?" Rin asked with slight concern. She knew he was more than capable, she would have had to be blind if she didn't notice her friend's rapid progress throughout the years, but he was also the type to push himself beyond his limits.

"I'll be fine, Rin. Old man Madara wouldn't have chosen me if he didn't think I was up to it. You know how he can get."

Rin gave the man a small smile but the worry in her eyes was still evident but Obito could only return the smile. He didn't want to offer his best friend and love of his life any false hopes. The dangers of being a part of the police force was always there and if he were to get injured while on active duty then he didn't want her to be patching him up while chastising him about an unstable promise.

"I hope you can save the Synth safely. Just try and be careful."

"You know I always do."

Obito waved to the woman a heartfelt goodbye before knocking on his boss' door. The stern 'Come on' followed shortly after and Obito was met with a strange sight. Madara was a stern man and was slowly greying after all the stress from working for more than twenty years in the office but it never effected his dementor; however, today was different.

Uchiha Madara looked warn, tired beyond his years as he stared with fixed eye on the open file before him.

"Old man?" Obito never bothered fixing his habit of calling his family Head that name but he did learn to only refer to him as such in private.

"Obito, this mission in incredibly important. Not only on a societal level but…" He uncharacteristically paused for a moment, took a deep breath and continued. "This case is personal. This Synth's name is Haruno Sakura. She…she was designed especially for me almost thirty years ago, I only saw her a few times during production; however, something had happened and she was smuggled out of the company to be sold on the black market."

Obito blinked; and then blinked again. He had never seen his head so vulnerable before and over a synthetic human of all things.

"Is her being 'defective' a cover?" Obito found himself asking and then winced slightly. He didn't want to sound as if he was asking a professional question but he saw Madara's gaze harden as he tore his eyes away from the file.

"No, she is still defective. Thirty years I have been receiving reports of Haruno Sakura's movements and from what is gathered, she capable of being provoked, will not hesitate to harm others even her own owner but from what I can tell she can be reasoned with."

"She almost sounds human."

"A traumatised human." Madara corrected. "From the moment she was turned on she has only known the underworld. I'm sure you don't need much further explanation. Here's the file. You better read up. I want her brought back in one piece, taking her to get repaired isn't an option unless you want to call Miss Tenten yourself."

Obito saluted half-heartedly before taking the extended file. "Please, don't joke about that sure. Tenten-san is lovely but I don't want to get a check-up before it's absolutely required."

Madara smirked at his great nephew's response and they soon parted ways; but the moment the door closed behind Obito, Madara's face slowly fell into a deep frown.

Since he was a boy he had wanted nothing more to have his own synthetic human. They didn't age, they did whatever you told them to and they're job was to make you happy. He remembered pestering his father and mother to take him to go and see Sakura as she was being built; and he had never seen a more beautiful human in his life.

She was in a cylindrical container filled with liquid and had only been built form the torso up. Wires and tubes were completely exposed from her chest and her bright pink hair floated with effortless grace. Then when the scientists and producers in charge of Sakura told them that after the motherboard was developed she was completely conscious and could hear them was when the android opened its eyes. Striking jade eyes stared down at Madara and he didn't know what had come over him but all he could feel the burning desire to hold her.

But after hearing from his father that his Sakura was found to be defective and was awaiting to be scrapped and remade, Madara felt cold. He didn't want a different Sakura, he wanted that one. He promptly told his father that he didn't care and that he wanted Sakura brought to him immediately.

When his father had returned later that evening with a disgruntled and sour look on his face, Madara knew that his father wasn't able to fulfil his request.

Haruno Sakura, a defective synthetic human had been stolen and her location was completely unknown. Until now…but it was far too late for him to be her owner. She at least deserved someone who was able to see humanity in everything.

* * *

The stake out in front of the warehouse long and arduous; Obito and Kakashi had been sitting uncomfortably in the unmarked vehicle for 5 hours waiting for the guards and broker to acknowledge that they were waiting for introduction. Walking up to the door was always seen as a threat; no, in the underworld one had to be invited in first from a familiar source.

When a man and a woman walked up to their car and stood a couple feet away with the headlights directly on them, Obito was the first to get out before he silently signalled Kakashi it was safe for him to drive away and that he would call if anything happened.

Obito wore a mask that hid his face, only leaving one hole to his through, his one remaining Sharingan. He didn't say anything to man and the woman, their masks were distinct and conveyed all the information that both parties need: identification.

They guided Obito into the back of the warehouse where shelves full of trinkets shone and curtains were thrown over the more delicate material. The woman who was walking behind him passed him a booklet containing all current information of the products they had acquired that he was required to study up on in the hopes of attracting the biggest bidder.

When Obito knew that neither of his escorts attention were on him he activated his Sharingan and took in all the information on the tech Headquarters needed to be prepared for before they raided the place. With that out of the way, his real mission began.

Obito looked around the place, it was dark with only the light from flashing buttons and engines to guide them. He knew they were leading him straight to Haruno Sakura but it didn't change the fact that the didn't like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They were there to make sure that nothing was left behind or taken from that warehouse.

When they made it to a deadbolted room, the man pulled all the bolts and locks off before allowing their guest to be the first one to potentially fall victim to the known defective Synth.

Obito had read the file detailing everything Headquarters knew on the Synth but she looked almost human, maybe even a beautiful porcelain doll. Her vibrant pink hair fell around her chin and topped with a neat red ribbon, she wore a frilly, sleeveless white blouse, a poufy pink skirt and matching ribbon tied heels. Haruno Sakura sat in an antique armchair, perfectly still with her eyes closed.

Obito couldn't believe she was considered defective but it didn't take long before her eyes opened at the sound of their entrance and jade immediately met black; but during the split second they made eye contact, Obito knew that he had caught the woman's attention.

The Sharingan was a known trait on the police force but more especially on her original master and she had known that. Her eyes immediately closed and her head feel.

"It's usually not this docile. They must have done a good job electrocuting her into submission." The woman said suddenly. "You've seen the product now let's go."

And just like that they left without another look at the synthetic human who had murdered her way through the underworld for survival.

* * *

A month later when the auction began the police were swift and effective in arresting all of the participants before slowly clearing out all of the material that were up for sale. Obito watched over and ordered which specialists were to go were to extract certain objects before he made his way to the bolted room with the duplicate keys he had assisted in forging.

Haruno Sakura still sat in the same position in which he had left in a month ago, but nothing about her looked any different.

A small layer of dust was on her shoulders and Obito immediately knew that she had put herself to sleep. It was mechanically impossible to turn a synthetic human off and instead hibernated in order to better fit in with society.

Obito pulled a bracelet from his back pocket that Madara had given to him to neutralise the pink Synth and quickly slipped it onto her wrist before picking her up into a fireman's carry.

The sudden jolt to Haruno Sakura's system didn't take long to wake her up before she was staring at him with silent, deadly eyes.

"My name is Uchiha Obito. I'm an officer of the law and I'm here to bring to safe. It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Haruno Sakura."

Although, he couldn't see her face but he felt her body stiffen. The soft hum of cogs and gears felt like music in his ear. He hoped he hadn't caused her too much of a shock, the last thing he wanted was to be written by the old man to go see Tenten…but then again, he got the feeling he was going to see her regardless.

"Yes." A soft voice replied. "I am. Haruno. Sakura." Her voice was unusually robotic but Obito didn't pay it much mind and instead turned his head around as best his could and offered her a warm smile.

However, when Obito had made their way out of the warehouse, hundreds of his friends and family were bustling around and arresting masked people who were willingly participating in purchasing a synthetic human for unlawful purposes it made him side to his stomach. He didn't even realise he had activated his Sharingan to memorise the body types and the minimal facial features of the woman's capture and enslavement.

He just hoped Yamanakas' department had someone who was well versed in Synth psychology, otherwise he got the feeling he was going to be in charge of their new resident ticking timebomb.

At that moment, as Haruno Sakura was gently placed into the back of the police vehicle, a trauma blanket placed delicately over her shoulders and a warm drink was placed in her hands by one of the medics on hand, she knew that for the first time in her existence on earth, she didn't have to kill anyone and she could live the life she was programmed for. If she understood what the word 'safe' felt like she would have undoubtedly felt her motherboard hum in a comforting pattern and for once enjoy her future hibernation.

* * *

AN: Hi everyone,

This a new story that I was completely inspired to write because of the lovely art drawn by Yomi-Gaeru over on tumblr. This story is blessed by being able to use the art is question as it cover, so please go and check them out if you enjoy a ton of UchiSaku stuff.

And don't forget to check me out over on tumblr as well, Kuchia-chan everyone is more than welcome to join the shipping hype.

I'd also like to make an important request when it comes to reviews. I, personally, don't like or appreciate "please update soon" and the like because I feel like it kills my creativity; but please don't let that stop you, your love really help push me to try my best.

Hopefully, I'll see you all soon in the next chapter


	2. Chapter 2: Arrival

The drive to the station was quiet. Obito who drove their prisoner? Captive? Witness? He wasn't sure which terminology to use but regardless, Haruno Sakura was deadly silent the entire ride. He had taken off the mask a while ago and shot glances into the rear-view mirror so often he almost caused an accident.

But the moment they pulled up to the station he heard and felt a violent kick come from the backseat. He slammed down on the brakes and grabbed his wireless radio; the signal was powerful enough to connect to anyone within the building luckily in case he required backup.

Obito took a moment to calm himself down before continuing to drive into the station, he took his time and the wheels crawled achingly.

He watched as Haruno Sakura was violently short circuiting, the suppressors prevented the Synth from completely destroying his car and running amuck and silently thanked the manufacturers of the police cars.

As more and more synthetic humans made their way into the upper and upper-middle class markets the abuse many Synths took resulted in violent yet accidental crimes on the Synths' part. As a result, all emergency vehicles were specially upgraded to withstand the strength of Synth. Laws were put in place; the programming was changed that Synths would automatically call the police when they experienced physical violence and all working professionals and schools were obligated to educate respect and situational awareness.

Despite their sentience, Synth were specifically designed to fulfil their owners wishes. The legality between property and human rights were still thoroughly debated but, at the moment, due to their lack of sentience they were still considered property.

As Obito pulled into the station, he stared at the Synth in the back seat. As she kicked and threw herself desperately against the door he had noticed two things about her – one, she was _denting_ his precious _specialised_ car and two, her eyes were moving around, she was scanning her environment and her mouth opened and shut rapidly as if she was silently screaming.

" _A traumatised human_." Madara's voice echoed in the back of Obito's mind and from what he could see the old man was clearly onto something. He took a deep breath, took one last look at Sakura before he pulled the car over and parked it.

He debated whether or not he should open the small window that separated the back and front seats… but after seeing the dents in his car, he opted to leave it closed. The last thing he needed was the woman to rip the bullet proof windows out of the frame in a desperate attempt to escape the confined space.

Obito calmly made as best eye contact with her before she began, "Haruno Sakura. Your name is Haruno Sakura. It is going to be okay. My name is Uchiha Obito and nothing is going to happen to you. I will stay by your side the entire time. We just want to ask you a few questions and we will you will be safe under police custody, Sakura-san. Do I have your permission to leave the vehicle and come to your side of the car?"

Obito had been at the aid of many officers and emergency callers when they were going to violent PTSD attacks, but he had to give Sakura props for being able to calm down relatively smoothly. Her smooth limbs were now cut up, the synthetic skin peeled back and a mixture of motor oil and green fluid slowly poured out but the thrashing eventually began a visible shaking.

Sakura had not said a thing the entire time but after three minutes had passed she consented to Obito's enquiry.

Obito calmly and slowly left the driver's seat and crouched outside the passenger side window. The last thing he wanted was to be looming over her and seen as a threat.

"Do I have your permission to open the door?" Another nod. "Do I have your permission to touch you?" She shook her head. "I understand, it will be okay, Sakura-san. You are welcome to step out of the vehicle and I can take you inside to some place more comfortable." Another nod.

Obito stood to one side although making sure he was in her line of sight and began leading her into the building. When he turned around to check on her, he had noticed how she didn't make a sound as she walked and too great comfort in hugging the safety blanket around herself.

"Sakura-san," He watched as her eyes shot up from the floor, stared for a moment and then narrowed suspiciously. _Only met her for a couple hours and already I'm forgetting she's a Synth_. "You're welcome to ask any questions if you like." He said light-heartedly. He did his best to feel welcoming but he didn't know what Madara had in store for her.

Sakura looked around the hallway for a moment before her eyes fell back to the floor. "I'm sorry for destroying your car. I don't have anything to repay you for it or an owner."

Obito blink, stopped walking and blinked again.

She was apologising? But also, it was the first time he had heard her voice, it was feminine but slightly husky, he wondered whether she hurt her voice.

It wasn't until Sakura had stopped walking that he realised he hadn't replied yet. "Oh, uh, yeah, that, don't worry about it, Madara-sama will take care of all the damage costs. I'm sure he'll understand." He scratched the back of his head as he told her with a blush on his face.

Sakura's jade green eyes widened and paled. "Ma- Mad- Madara? U-Uchiha Madara is – is your boss?"

Obito was slow sometimes, but he wasn't that slow, he lowed his arm and offered a pitiful smile.

"Don't smile like that!" She snapped. "I don't need your pity."

Obito's mouth turned into a frown before he turned away in shame. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I heard from old man Madara of your circumstances. You must have really missed him…"

Sakura pupils adjusted themselves unnaturally when it the office again that the person he was talking to wasn't human. She was just so life-like. "My programming was made for Uchiha Madara…who, who I serve doesn't matter anymore."

"Shall we go then?" The tall heterochromia man offered peacefully and only got a nod in response. The walk to the boss' office was tense but sobering. Despite Sakura's word to not pity her, Obito was that type of man. He sympathised greatly with those who suffered; it was why he became an officer of the law, not to stop crime but to save people.

Ultimately, people like Haruno Sakura who claimed they didn't need saving were the type of people Obito knew needed help the most.

* * *

When Madara had received the call claiming that Obito had successfully captured their target and was on his way, he couldn't hold back the relief, anxiety and childish excitement that exploded in his bosom.

The moment he saw Sakura back when he was a child he saw a future of happiness together where she was able to do anything but he refused to do nothing, he equally wanted to shower her in attention, gifts and any request her mind could come up with.

Madara was snapped back to reality when door opened with a loud hesitant knock. His eyes stared blankly at the scarred head of his great nephew.

"Is that her?" Madara asked softly.

Obito desperately tried to find anything else to look at than his boss. He really didn't know how Haruno Sakura was going to react to seeing her original owner who she had never bonded with.

"Yes?"

Madara's eyebrow twitched. "Just bring her in already."

Obito shrugged his shoulders tensely and opened the door as wide as possible, stepping in and Sakura walked into the brightly lit room slowly. She took in her surrounding carefully and it was clear to them that she was looking for an escape route in case anything went wrong.

"Sakura-san," Obito said softly and she snapped her head in his direction. "It's going to be okay. I'll leave the door open for you and I'll be right outside. Do you want me to call a woman to join you?"

Sakura scanned the ground before her eyes decided her feet were her best option. "Yes, please."

Obito offered a warm smile and turned to Madara who nodded in equally understanding permission. "I'll go get a woman named Nohara Rin, you won't be able to find a kinder soul."

"Thank you, Obito-san, you have been very kind to me."

"Don't worry about it."

Obito left the room and Sakura was left alone with Madara. She glanced at him and quickly dropped. _He's grown a lot since I last saw him_. _He's all grown up_. She thought sadly.

"Please take a seat. Unfortunately, protocol dictates that I can't take off your suppressants until you have been discharged." Madara started professionally; however, that did not account for the silent berating that was happening inside his head for not being more hospitable towards her.

Madara cleared his throat in a desperate attempt to reset himself. "Would you like to wait until Nohara-san arrives before we start?"

She silently nodded. The two waited in an awkward silence and Madara wondered why at that exact moment the universe decided he needed to run out tea so he didn't have anything in his hands just to spite him.

Madara wondered where the hell Nohara was that was taking so long and then begged to whatever go was listening that Obito had used his radio and _not_ gone to search for her himself, otherwise, they were bound to wait for another two or three hours for them to arrive.

"Obito-san is a kind man but he looks rather, pardon my phrasing, hopeless." Sakura offered.

Madara gave up glaring his cup to death to look at Sakura. She had never look so beautiful than right then, despite the green and black, oozing cuts and lumps on her arms that indicated bruising, her tangled muck of pink hair, ruffled clothes and the ugly orange security blanket that was tightly wrapped around her frame, he saw a woman who had survived countless wars, battles and death and he wished he could have been the one to take her hand one day and tell her she was going to be safe for the rest of her existence.

"He certain can get that wait sometimes, but he is good at his job when the call arises."

Sakura nodded again, her shoulders relaxed a little bit and she took comfort in staring at open doorway. Her head inclined slightly when the shape of a petite woman with short brown hair and purple cheek markings entered the room.

"You called me, sir?"  
"Yes, Nohara-san, I'd like to introduce you to Haruno Sakura."

 _Nohara is a smart girl_. Madara concluded. He watched as she rested her hands openly on her knees rather than offer her hand to shake it and introduced herself openly and calmly before stepping back and pulling up a chair.

"Sakura-san, the police force understands that your involvement in multiple cases of underworld crime was through orders handed to you by higher ups; is that true? I'd also like to add that even during the year that you were constructed a chip was implemented that you would no be able to lie to any form of law enforcement."

Sakura managed to maintain a calm exterior as she answered, "An unknown scientist had broken into my hard-drive two years and three months after I was taken from my development facility and was able to successful remove the chip, Madara-sama; however, since you are my original owner I am incapable of lying to you."

Madara frowned at the information. "And crime spree?"

"They were orders. The deaths of my previous owners were due to excessive pressure on my motherboard and excessive physical damage to my body."

It was at that moment that Madara realised something he really wished he hadn't…something that had nothing related to the case or her trauma. It was the fact that his thirty years of fantasising was and would never mean anything to the synthetic human Haruno Sakura. He could own her but when he thought about the soft, warm comment she had made about Obito when it was just the two of them, he knew that any question he asked her would be met with mechanics and electronics. A calculated response that factored in the best optimisation for the truth and his happiness.

She was just a Synth.

He gave her a sad smile as he took a deep breath and stood up from his seat. "How about we take this up another day? We all need some rest after today. I will call our on-sight mechanic, Tenten, and she will meet up with you and she can help fix up your wound in a second."

Sakura and Rin also took and looked at each other in slight confusion. Two questions really weren't all he was going to ask, was he?

Apparently so, Madara held open the door to the room for both of the women. "If you don't mind, Sakura-san, Nohara-san, I would like to see you here again tomorrow at 8am. I've already cleared my schedule for an hour."

Sakura bowed her head, while Rin replied with a positive, "Yes, sir." However, just before they were about to leave Sakura looked at Madara in the eyes and asked desperately. "Where will I stay, Madara-sama?"

"I have asked Obito to take you in; he, Nohara-san and Hatake-san all share a house the government donates in order to encourage more responders around the city. Their team are also a specialised support group who have helped many Synths before you and are more than happy to support you."

Sakura looked at Rin who gave her an encouraging thumbs up.

Sakura agreed, although slightly reluctantly and followed Rin down the hallway. Rin had gathered a couple of supplies, a spare set of clothes, some comfortable shoes and toiletries.

"What's the matter?" Rin asked when she saw the lost look in the pink-haired woman's eyes.

"I was just reminiscing; the world thirty-years ago at the time did not have a lot of laws in place to protect synthetic humans and seeing how Madara-sama, Obito-san and Nohara-san are treating me now, it makes me feel…safe knowing I'm in capable hands."

Rin smiled up at her with great confidence. "We really appreciate that, Sakura-san, and by all means you're welcome to call me Rin, we're roommates now so don't feel like you have to hold back around me or Obito. Kakashi, uh, Hatake Kakashi, our other roommate, you will meet him soon, he's a bit strange, cold? And rough around the edges but apparently some Synths find his bluntness refreshing."

Sakura searched her brain for information before drawing a blank. "He does not have any social media?"

"That's a strange question. No, he's a really private person. Why do you ask?"

Sakura cast her eyes away before answering, "I was connected to the global internet. All the information that is put online is accessible to me, only the scientist who removed my chip and my deceased owner knew about it…" There was a hesitation in her voice as she confided in the human woman.

Rin scanned her face wondering why she had hesitated to share such important information with her and not with Madara, but then she supposed that if Madara found out that Sakura had access to the dark web then criminals would become a lot easier to catch and surprisingly it was through her own personal instinct to avoid becoming a pawn that Sakura did not present the information sooner.

"For the meantime, I'm willing to keep this between us but I am still an office of Konoha and I will need to send in a report. I'm pretty sure the boss will understand that you do not want to used as a tool."

Sakura offered a tense smile before her bottom lip began to wobble and she felt liquid slide slowly down her cheeks. Bringing a delicate finger up she touched it and when she looked down out found it was clear. She wasn't injured; then why was liquid coming from her eyes.

Her motherboard felt hot as if it were expanding but when she took a deep breath to cool it down she immediately released it and more liquid fell.

"It's okay to cry, you've been through a lot." Rin offered reassuringly.

"I am…crying?" Sakura looked up from her hunch with desperation and despair in her eyes. She had never felt such agony before. "How do I make it stop?"

Rin's mouth opened but then closed as she thought about it for a moment. "Uh, it's healthiest to just let it out…um, by continuing to cry until it stops." Trying her best to keep herself calm in the face of an emotionally breaking down Synth (a situation Rin had never in her entire career dealt with before and highly doubted any other person had) opted to grab a near by stool and ushered the crying woman to sit down.

"We're going to take good care of you, Sakura-san. You're safe now."

Sakura continued crying for another two hours and when she slowly felt like she could talk again she thanked Rin for being there for her just as Obito walked into the room, ironically asking _them_ why they were taking so long.

Rin wanted to clobber the man.

* * *

AN: Hey there lovelies,

OMG! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews. I still can't believe I got so many reviews just for the first chapter. I'm a very lucky author to have so much support.

Just to let you guys know my schedule is currently being broken up into two different weeks, so:  
WEEK 1: Tempest and A Spark of Humanity  
Week 2: A Little Ghost Girl and another upcoming fic

You can find me, ask me questions, request omakes or just some headcannons on a ship you like here  
Social Media:  
Tumblr: Kuchia-chan

~~Question Time~~

This is a corner I have started doing with all of my other fics so if there are any ASoH-related questions you would like answered or a more in-depth cover of a particular scene you will find your answers here. You can send in your questions in your reviews or PM either is fine


	3. Chapter 3: Home

The ride to the house wasn't anything special. Rin, Obito and Sakura had taken a police car home and Sakura made it clear that she wasn't offended to sit in the back seat since was still unstable and injured.

And surprisingly, the two women fell asleep the moment the engine turned on and Obito had a soft smile on his lips and his heart raced as he stole a glance over at Rin but then his mind calmed down and went peacefully quiet when he glanced at the mirror and saw the pink haired woman, deep black eyelashes shone with each passing overhead lights and her humming motherboard was a strong indicator of her older model.

Obito didn't know what it was about the Sakura was he found her rather interesting despite the small amount of time they had spent together – maybe it was because of her sudden ties to his family that really caught his attention; or maybe it was because there was something about her that never really felt like a Synth. And if it weren't for the green liquid that dripped from the cuts from her self-inflicted wounds and wires that poked out that really reminded him that the person that he was going to take care of was another case, another job and that he wasn't meant to get attached to.

When Obito turned into their home's street and the speed began to slow down, Sakura's eyes began to flutter, the hum changed tones and quietened down until it was completely inaudible.

"How long am I expected to stay, Obito-san?" Sakura unprompted.

Synth rarely played along with human's societal necessities with greetings and updates on information that wasn't required or largely impacted their lives, so they skipped it all together; however, that was the older models, in the last 15 years a thesis by Umino Iruka that documented the behaviour of Synths and sociological human behaviour and connection between Synths and abuse. His study had resulted in a change the Synths and Synth's abuse had a notable and documented decrease.

But, must of Obito's cases were related so the older models and their uncanniness had at that point worn away and didn't bother him anymore.

"We don't know, it's different from Synth to Synth." He said plainly.

"Will you accept other cases of Synths?" She followed up.

"Yes, we will be getting a couple smaller cases. We talk through a couple issues with malfunctioning or troubled Synths but no more than a week. There are other long-term Synth support homes, so we will be able to focus on supporting you as best we can."

"You do this a lot, don't you?" Sakura stated rhetorically.

Obito paused, wondering what she meant as he pulled up to their shadowed driveway, he noticed there was another, nice vintage car parked in his spot and pulled their vehicle just outside the house.

"Yeah, it's just part of the job." Obito turned off the engine and leant over to nudge his partner, "Rin. Rin, time to get up and go to bed."

The human woman rubbed her eyes, stretched her arms are far as she could in the small passenger's seat and yawned loudly. "Morning~"

The man chuckled lightly before gathering his things and climbed out, "Come on, you two, time for bed."

Sakura left the car without another word, while Rin moved lethargically, her vibe was still energetic and peaceful. Obito knocked on the door knowing that Kakashi was home, but also knew that he wouldn't be the one to open the door.

Sakura walked patiently and almost uniformly next to Rin as they joined Obito. When the door opened, warmth escaped and washed over them; they were met with another kind looking face of a woman with high twin buns in a black singlet and an open chested overall, tied around her waist.

"Hey, Tenten," Obito greeted with a smile, "Thanks for coming over on such short notice."

"Don't worry about it. Come in. Madara actually called me himself to get ready and be at your place." The woman smiled as she made her way into the kitchen. It was clear to Sakura that Tenten was well acquainted with the home and was more than just a friendly co-worker.

The pink-haired Synth observed carefully how as the officers left her side and began removing their gear and took a deep sigh of relief.

She supposed compared to other famous cases she had read on the internet she was consider a low enough risk to expose themselves. She didn't want to misplace their trust in her capabilities, especially since they were the only people, the only establishment that was willing to protect her from being scrapped or even potentially returning to the black market.

"Hey." Tenten called out softly. "You've probably heard of me on your way here, I'm Tenten. I'm here to help patch you up. Unfortunately, it's protocol for a mechanic to look you over rather than fixing yourself."

Sakura didn't know why, but she suddenly felt her fingernails digging and scratching at the suppressants that were tightly locked around her wrists. "Please be careful, I do not enjoy check-ups due to trauma."

The words that left the glossy pink lips were jarring. All eyes took in the sight of the robotic woman. Her back was unnaturally straight, her fingernails had broken through the skin as green fluid slowly dripped to the floor and her eyes had lost its shade of jade green. Sakura's wore the plain and spare clothes the office always had on hand, however, it did nothing to diminish or insult her delicate, doll-like features and almost appear like royalty.

Her stature screamed of the price-tag the Uchiha family must have paid at the time, but her eyes hinted at the horrors she experienced.

Haruno Sakura was a human soul trapped and in pain in the unemotional and automatic body. It was the only way to describe it.

"Sakura-san," It was Obito, "Please let go of your wrist, you're hurting yourself. It's going to be okay. You can put yourself into sleep-mode and Tenten will take care of it."

Sakura's snapped over to the man and her eyes widened at the sight of his Sharingan. She suddenly felt motherboard calm down as she continued to watch the tomes spin. Her fingers relaxed and she promptly laced them together to prevent herself from her own nails.

She couldn't feel pain but she could feel her fluid leaking and it was really starting to drain her.

"I would like to stay awake, if Tenten-san will permit it. Rin, can you please stay with me?"

The two women looked to each other. Rarely did Synth give them so little trouble but they weren't going to complain. They offered each other a weak but agreeing smile before the both of them gave their own sign of approval.  
Tenten gave her a thumb's up, while Rin tilted her head with a wider smile and a, "Sure thing."

* * *

Rin and Tenten helped themselves to a cup of coffee each and a bite to eat before they lead Sakura to the living room.

It wasn't much at least compared to the many other rich mansion, living rooms Sakura had passed through that belonged to many of her previous owners, but the bright light over the white décor that was covered in abandoned coats was the homeliest she had ever seen. There was a small electric fire in the corner of the room, the couch faced a large plasma tv, a large bookcase lined the back wall, and there was a small table with a single seat next to the drawn curtains that most likely had a door behind it leading to the backyard.

"Kakashi must still be up," Rin said absently as she caught sight of a laptop still on over on the single-seat table.

"Yeah," Tenten replied, "He just went out to the convenient store around the corner to pick up some things, apparently he'll be up late writing up reports for Madara."

"I'll move his stuff to the kitchen counter then so he knows the living room's occupied."

"Thanks."

Sakura rarely felt curious, but the way the two women interacted was the most recognised definition of friends.

Sakura had rarely felt envious, but she recognised the signs only because Karin, a superior Synth who managed the others back in the underworld, told her bluntly about the new installations Orochimaru had welded into her motherboard were experiencing emotions.

Sakura clenched her fists at the memory of the thousands of other Synth who had destroyed themselves because of the new installations; she was determined not to end up like them and her only desire was to return to her true owner's side.

She had to get repaired. She had to control herself. She had to go back to Madara.

* * *

When Hatake Kakashi returned back to his much-loved home with a plastic bag with a bottle of ice coffee and pudding, the first thing he noticed was all of his stuff on the kitchen counter. Tenten was busy with their new Synth housemate then.

Kakashi might have only dropped off and picked up Obito from the black-market auction for the Synth, now known as Haruno Sakura. He had read over all of the reports on her provided to him by Madara; and all of the assessments and information that was gathered was incredibly jarring.

Kakashi squared himself up like every other mission that was given to him. He was not going to let another Synth hurt his team; especially, one as explosively dangerous and rebellious as Haruno Sakura.

* * *

AN: Hey there, lovelies.

I'm so sorry for the lateness of such a short chapter. I've been incredibly busy with uni and exams, but I'll do my best with future chapters. Exams finish in two weeks so it should be better than it was this week.

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Tumblr: Kuchia-chan

~Question Corner~

 **Tiffanycr (Guest)** : Will Sakura connect with Kakashi? Will she be his favourite Synth roomie?

I feel like Kakashi and Sakura will have a strange jarring relationship at first. They'll probably hold a lot of animosity towards each other just because their personalities will most likely clash, but it'd bring out a lot of Sakura's buried emotions. As for favourites...I think they're _might_ become awkward besties who's only bond is judging Obito's horrible life choices.

 **Guest:** Will you be writing more?

Yes, I will! I am determined to write and keep a schedule so I have to write every week. A Spark of Humanity is in Week 1 along with Tempest, while A Little Ghost Girl and upcoming one-shots will be on Week 2, so updates will be fortnightly.


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